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5th December 2025
5th December 2025
Welcome to our weekly bulletin,
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...The tree is up in reception and in the Cafe, festive music is playing during lunchtimes and we are all looking forward to a special festive lunch next week. More information on that below.
We have been very busy...
Seeing it take shape
Seeing it take shape
The steel frame has continued to grow this week with not only the front of the building in place but the start of the main body of the building itself. A stairwell has been dropped into place and a lift shaft is now visible.
The scale is quite impressive and as we arrive on site each day we are reminded of the anticipation around this building.
Our team have also carried out an inventory this week to assess which items of classroom furniture will be moved across to the new building and what will be replaced.
Preparing a festive feast
Preparing a festive feast
A festive lunch will available and free to all students on Wednesday 10th of December.
We all look forward to sharing our festive feast together and whether you celebrate Christmas or not, all students are invited to have the set lunch as a free school meal on that day. Halal , vegetarian and vegan options are also available and allergies as always, are catered for. If your child eats their lunch in the quiet area, they will still be able to do this.
As you can imagine, this is a significant undertaking for our kitchen staff and the entire Cafe is filled with staff and students who sit together and enjoy this event. If your child does not want to have their free school meal on that day they will be required to bring a packed lunch as this is the only service available. Packed lunches will be eaten in the Auditorium.
A big thank you in advance to our catering team- we can't wait!
Reminding about online safety
Reminding about online safety
Mrs Ball is sharing an online safety guidance document with parents and carers which has been produced by National Crime Agency and the Counter Terrorism Police.
The document is very detailed and full of information that all parents and carers should be aware of in order to keep their child safe.
If you have any concerns about a child you should report these to the police.
Mrs Ball and Miss Hall are our designated safeguarding leads in school and are always available to provide help and guidance on matters of child protection. Even if it's just a niggle.
Online Safety Newsletter 1.docx.pdfReminding Year 11 Parents about Parent/Carer meetings
Reminding Year 11 Parents about Parent/Carer meetings
Appointments for Thursday's progress evening have been scheduled and your child's mentor will be touch to introduce themselves.
You will receive a copy of your child's exam results, predicted GCSE grades and attitude to learning along with specific things they need to revise.
Please contact reception if you have any questions.
Preparing Christmas Hampers
Preparing Christmas Hampers
With sponsorship from Tesco and local charities we have been able to build 5 Christmas hampers to help out with the cost of the holidays.
Each child who attends on the last day of term will be eligible and one child from each year group will be selected at random to receive these goods.
The boxes are quite heavy and will contain fruit, vegetables and house hold cleaning items. You just need to be in to win!
Planning rewards
Planning rewards
As usual all students will be able to exchange their achievement points for rewards on the last day of term.
The tariff is created based on the cost of the reward and is always calculated with the average number of achievement points in mind.
Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis and must be ordered through Classcharts.
To ensure Year 7 know how to do this we will be logging in to Classcharts on Monday and guiding them how to use the reward shop in preparation for the rewards being made available. Rewards will then be made live to all students on Tuesday and orders must be purchased by Friday.
We always try to make these rewards low or no cost to parents but due to the increasing cost of coach hire, if the reward is off site we will request a donation of £5 to cover the cost of buses.
This term there are two off-site rewards which have been selected by the School Council and Tutor groups: Beamish and the Metro Centre.
If your child selects these rewards you will be given a letter and you will be able to pay the £5 donation via school gateway. Payment can be made any time up until 19th of December. If you can not cover the cost of this but your child is eligible please contact reception as we may be able to provide assistance.
All of the other rewards are free to students and include Archery, FIFA, Christmas Wreath Making, Christmas Cinema (including snacks), Fitness, Outsmarted Quizzing, Board Games, Festive Cookery School and Theatre Workshops as voted for by students.
Want to know more?
Want to know more?
Telephone: 0191 3730336
Email: contact@durhamacademy.org.uk
For the most up to date information about what is going on in our school, please visit our website at:
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